Love Wins
by milner
Summary: A one-shot to celebrate marriage equality in all 50 states.


"Are you watching T.V.?" I hear when I answer my phone. I pull it away from my ear to double check the name I saw pop up.  
"Yeah. Why?"  
"Turn it to Channel 13."  
"Why? What's wrong?" I ask, sitting up quickly. I see Tris out of the corner of my eye, scrunching her eyebrows at me.  
"Nothing. Channel 13. Hurry."

I fumble around for the remote, picking up Gemma and finding it stuck in the cushion behind her. She giggles as I put her down and plant a kiss on the side of her head. Tris now has her eyebrows raised as I turn the channel; I'm surprised to see the President making an address.

"This morning, the Supreme Court recognized that the Constitution guarantees marriage equality. In doing so, they have affirmed that all Americans are entitled to the equal protection of the law. That all people should be treated equally, regardless of who they are, or who they love."

"Amar," I say, holding the phone close to my ear. I see Tris sit up, tears welling in her eyes. "Where's George?"  
"He's here, with me. I suggest the two of you grab the kids and get your asses down to the courthouse."  
"Now?" I look over at Tris, the wide smile on her face indicating she already knows what's happening. She nods, grabbing Gem's hand and telling Riley to get dressed.

"Yes, now. We've waited for too long. You think we're going to wait any longer?"  
"Not at all," I reply, smiling. "What about Zeke and everyone else?"  
"Who do you think George is on the phone with?"

We say goodbye and I follow Tris down the hall. She's trying to get the girls ready, despite Riley's best efforts to remain in her pajamas. "Okay, but why do I have to dress nicely?"

"Because it's a special day for your Uncles. Now, quit complaining and look presentable." Riley offers her mother a glare before I toss one right back at her. The look drops from her face before she stomps off, slamming her door.

"I'm not sure how being a teenager is worse than being a tween," Tris comments.  
"Mommy, what's a tween?" Gemma asks.  
"Something you won't be for a while. Thank God," she adds, under her breath.  
"Hey, go get dressed," I tell her. "I can brush Gem's hair." Tris offers me a grateful smile before pecking a kiss to my cheek and escaping to our room.

"Okay, little miss. How would you like your hair done?"  
"In a braid!"  
"Of course you do," I say, picking her up and carrying her into the kids' bath.

I plop her on the counter, her feet in the sink like we used to do when she was little. "Dad," she says. "I don't fit in the sink anymore."  
"I know. But we can pretend you're still little, can't we?" She giggles as I start raking my way through the long blonde mop that matches her mother's.

It was a battle I lost when Tris's schedule at the hospital changed and I had to get the kids ready for school in the mornings. Riley was going through a phase where she wanted her hair in a braid every day to keep it out of her face, so of course Gemma had to copy her. When I finally caved, I realized that I'm actually pretty good at it.

"All done." Gemma looks in the mirror for a second, before giving me a nod; needing the approval of a seven year old is important. I set her down on the ground and turn to see Riley, watching to two of us.  
"Not so fast," she says. She holds out a rainbow colored bow to Gemma, who lights up.  
"Can I, daddy?"  
"Of course you can, baby." She smiles brightly as I clip it in her hair. "Now go show your mom."

She tears out of the bathroom, leaving Riley standing awkwardly in the doorway. "That was awfully nice of you."  
"Yeah, well, it is the Uncles' big day," she says, offering me a smile. "Thought we should all show our support." She steps into the bathroom and picks up the brush, handing it to me. "Am I too old to have my dad braid my hair, too?"  
"Never," I say, proud of who she's turning out to be. She may give us a hard time, but deep down, she's a loving and caring person.

"Tobias, how long do we have?" I hear Tris yell from down the hallway.  
"We're supposed to meet them at noon," I say, walking into our bedroom. Tris looks amazing, as usual, but seeing my girls together, showing their love and support for Amar and George sends a surge of pride through me. "You all look beautiful."  
Tris smiles warmly at me, putting her arm around Riley. "I'm going to give the kids a snack while you get dressed, then we'll go."  
"Okay."

* * *

"Where are they?" I hear Riley say from behind me. I had a feeling the courthouse would be a little busy, but this is insane. I pull out my phone just as I spot Zeke.  
"They're inside already," he says, motioning for us to follow. "I think they came down here as soon as the ruling was announced. Didn't want us to have to wait all day." I scoop up Gemma and follow Zeke through the crowd, thankful to be waiting in the cool air conditioning instead of outside in the summer heat.

"You know I already made arrangements for tonight," I hear Christina say to Amar as we walk up, "And they definitely don't involve kids. Hey, babies!"  
"Hi Auntie!" Gemma says, giving her a big hug.  
"You two need a babysitter, stat."  
"Can't. You're all here," I say, smiling when she shoots me a look.  
"Tris, your husband's being a party pooper again."

Tris and I make a few phone calls in between shaking hands with George and Amar and being introduced to some of their family, finally getting a hold of the neighbor and securing a sitter for the night. In no time it feels like we're being ushered into the office of the Justice of the Peace. We cram ourselves into one of their larger rooms, and I can see the nervousness in Amar's eyes. I nudge Tris, who tells me to go talk to him.

"You okay," I whisper while their license is being squared away.  
"Yeah. I just…I didn't think I would ever see this day. I'm a little overwhelmed."  
"You don't have to do it right now, you know. I'm sure George will understand. You guys can take your time, plan it out."  
"No," Amar says, shaking his head back and forth. "I don't want to wait. I want to marry the love of my life."  
I smile and clap him on the shoulder. "Then what are you waiting for?"

After the proper paperwork is filled out, the Justice of the Peace stands between the two of them. "Who will be your witnesses?"  
"Tobias Eaton," Amar says, and I make my way back from Tris to stand by his side. I can see Zeke dancing in place; he's dying for George to call him up, I know.  
"Tori Wu," George says, and Zeke deflates slightly, Shauna whispering something in his ear. I nod to Tori, who nods back.

"We are here to join Amar and George in marriage. Will you Amar, have George to be united as one in your marriage?"  
"I will."  
"Then repeat after me: I, Amar, take you, George, to be my spouse in marriage. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, to love and to cherish forever." Amar repeats the words, a slight waver in his voice. I can't help but look at Tris and relive the nerves I felt at our wedding.

Amar takes George's ring and says, "With this ring, I thee wed," as he slides it on his finger. The same words are repeated by George, who slides Amar's ring on with a laugh and a wide grin on his face. The group chuckles, and Tori wipes a tear from her eye; she probably thought she'd never see this day, either.

"By the power vested in me by the State of Illinois, I hereby join you in marriage."

We clap and cheer as Amar and George kiss. They've been together longer than Tris and I have even known each other, and it makes me happy to know that two people I love like family are finally able to share their love the way Tris and I do.

"Well," I say as I sign the certificate, "How does it feel to finally be amongst the married?"  
"Horrible. Where do I go to get a divorce?" George jokes.  
"You joke now, funny man," Amar says, winking.  
"Nah. If I haven't gotten sick of your ass in the past fifteen years, what makes you think I'm going to change my mind now?" They share another kiss as our friends take more pictures on their phones.

"Alright," Christina yells out, "Everyone is to be at the bar no later than seven!"  
"What does she have planned?" I ask Tris.  
"I'm sure we don't even want to know."

On our way out of the courthouse, I see a bunch of people holding signs and yelling. I pick Gem up as Tris puts an arm around Riley; we have to pass the loud crowd to get to the parking lot.

"You okay?" I ask Amar, as the homophobic chants finally become distinguishable to me.  
"Yep. Ain't nothing gonna bring me down today."

I smile and hold my head high, taking Tris's hand as we walk. I can see the confusion on Gemma's face as we pass by the yelling; she's more than old enough to read the signs and understand them. I'm trying to formulate the best way to tackle this in the car when one of the protestors reaches out, trying to pull the rainbow bow out of her hair. I don't know who moves faster, me or Tris.

"Hey!" she yells, pushing the woman's hand away; I reach my arm out and put some space between Tris and the chanting crowd, handing her Gem in the process. I give her a look that she understands, and round on the woman.

"If you _ever_ touch anyone like that again, I will _personally_ make your life a living hell, do I make myself clear?"  
She shrinks back for only a moment; I know how intimidating I can be, and I fully intend to use it to my advantage. She squares her shoulders, though, and smirks at me. "Faggot lover."

I feel a hand on my shoulder; I don't know whose it is, but I shrug it off, deciding this is one battle worth fighting. "Who the hell do you think you are? You have no idea who I am, or who these people are that you are protesting against. Not to mention putting your hands on a child. The people we are here supporting today have been together even longer than my wife and I have. They love each other more than any other couple I've met, which is saying a lot. How dare you come out here and judge, trying to ruin what is one of the best moments of their lives. You should be ashamed of yourself. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and teach my children about your particular brand of hate, tell them how close-minded and wrong it is, and raise them to be the exact opposite of you."

I can hear the people nearest me cheering, but it isn't stopping the rage I feel. Tris gives me a sympathetic look, but it's Gemma who captures my attention; she's crying.

"Baby, what's wrong?" I ask, my anger replaced with hurt.  
"Those people are mean."  
"Yeah, they are." Our group of friends has come together, surrounding us. "You'll meet a lot of mean people in your life, but you can't let them get to you. I shouldn't have yelled back. I should have just kept walking and ignored them."

"Fuck that," Riley spits from next to Tris.  
"Riley Ann," Tris chastises.  
"Sorry, Mom, but you know I'm right. Dad did the right thing by standing up for my Uncles, and I'm always going to do the same, and so is Gem."

I know I should be mad at my daughter, but feel the complete opposite. She gives me a smirk, and it warms my heart that she's feisty like her mother.

"Meanies!" Gemma yells, getting a laugh from our group.  
"Okay, okay," Tris says. "That's enough crazy for one day. We'll see everyone tonight."

The car ride is anything but quiet as Gemma and Riley go on and on about how awesome I am for standing up for George and Amar, while Tris and I remind them that what I did isn't always an appropriate response. Somehow, I feel it's falling on deaf ears.

"Hey, don't blame me that they got your spunk," I say to Tris when we get home.  
"Oh, no. This isn't my fault. Those were your words coming out of Riley's mouth."  
"Yeah?" I say, pulling her close. "Well, I seem to recall making you say that word a few times, and you didn't complain then."  
"Tobias," she says, blushing.

"There are worse things to be mad about, Tris. We should be happy that we've raised two beautiful children with love and acceptance in their hearts."  
"You're right," she says, wrapping her arms around me. "Love wins. Love always wins."

* * *

When we arrive at Chris's bar, I expect to see gaudy decorations and maybe something alluding to the fact that a gay marriage took place, but I don't see anything. We make our way upstairs to the VIP area only to see I knew her better than I thought; there are a bunch of cartoon dicks taped to the walls.

"Happy bachelor party!" Christina yells, blowing on a penis shaped party favor.  
"This is supposed to happen _before_ the wedding," I say, watching Tris put one of the party favors in her mouth, and wondering if we could sneak in a little alone time before we have to get the kids.  
"Yeah, well, we didn't have time to prepare for that, now did we?"

"Hey, Four!" I hear Amar yell, and I turn to see him grinning, already well on his way to drunk.  
"Four? You haven't called me that in years."  
"Yeah, well, he hasn't come out to play in a while, has he."

Amar puts on a serious face, and I think back to how he gave me that nickname in the first place; he joked that it only took me four seconds to go from nice to raging asshole. The look on his face isn't anger or sadness, though. It's gratitude, and I smile.

"Thank you," he says. "For everything. For being my friend and my brother, and accepting me for who I am."  
"I wouldn't have it any other way," I say, shaking his hand and pulling him in for a hug, slapping him on the back.

"We're here! The party can officially begin now!" Zeke and Uriah both shout, clearly proud that they've arrived. "And hey, I brought you both a present. I hope you don't mind," Zeke says, winking and elbowing both George and Amar in the sides. I watch Shauna roll her eyes and pull Tris to the side. I'm trying to piece it together, when two men dressed as cops come waltzing it. Uriah and Zeke push two chairs into the middle of the room, and plant Amar and George in them.

"We hear there's been a disturbance," one of them says. "A disturbance in your pants."  
"Oh, fuck," I say, and whip my head to where Tris is standing, only to see her laughing. I give her a look, pleading for us to get the hell out, but she just shakes her head, a wide grin on her face.

 **A/N:**

 **Yesterday was an amazing day for equality. With the encouragement from a few friends, this was born. Love is love, and love always wins.**

 **And a small side note: I'm still working on my new story. I apologize for how long it's taking, but the result is you guys are going to get a better story. And a longer one, too- I'm already over 90k words! I don't know when you should expect it, but I'm guessing by August.**

 **My thanks to BK2U for superior editing skills.**


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